Chapter 1
The war was over and had been for 8 years, Voldemort was dead and Harry was happily living his life. Hermione sighed as she read his latest letter. He was engaged to Ginny Weasly. She knew that she would soon be hearing from Ron to say the same thing. Ginny had already shown up to tell her the good news even before the owl got there with Harry's letter. She tried to be happy for them, but she has had the hardest time coping with how her life has changed. Yes she and Ron had dated, even going as far as talking about getting engaged, but when it came time they realized that they were just too different for each other and it wouldn't have worked. Hermione then made the hardest choice she ever had and that was to leave the wizarding world behind and live solely in the muggle world. Thankfully having muggle parents and friends made the transition slightly easier but what surprised Hermione the most was that she didn't miss the magic at all. All the time she had spent in Hogwarts and learning and fighting for their future, she thought that it would have been more difficult for her to leave it all behind. Her wand was stored in a never used guest room closet in the original box it came in. The last spell she ever did was to erase her parents' memories of her time at Hogwarts; as far as they and anyone else were concerned Hermione just went to the local private school, making sure to create the records necessary for her to be able to attend college. She graduated college with a Masters in Psychology and was currently working as a professor in her alma mater.
Hermione lived in a modest two bedroom house just outside of London. She looked out her window at the rainy day and felt relaxed. She has always loved the rain. There was a sudden knock on her door and for a second her heart froze.
"Please don't be him, please" she muttered on her way to the door. Looking through the peep hole she smiled, it was her mom with a basket.
"Mum, what are you doing here?" She could feel her mother looking her up and down as she stepped aside to let her in.
"Oh no real reason dear I was just in the neighborhood and thought I'd bring lunch for us." Her mom made no question about having Hermione eat. Before she could even respond her mother was putting the plate with half a sandwich in her hands. Hermione sat at the kitchen table and tore a small piece of the sandwich off and with great effort chewed and swallowed it. It wasn't that the sandwich was bad, it was her favorite actually, but Hermione just never seemed to have an appetite anymore. Her mom sat a bowl of vegetable soup next to her with a spoon and sat down across from Hermione. Apparently her mother just wasn't going to let this go any longer. With great effort Hermione ate her meal, which just sat in her stomach like lead.
"Hermione, your father and I are really worried about you. Please tell me what's wrong; I can see it on your face every time you think no one is looking." What could Hermione say that wouldn't give away her past? She just looked at her mother and smiled a small smile and tried to convey happiness.
"Mum, for the thousandth time I am fine. I know you and Dad are concerned about me but you needn't be." Her mother looked at her once more before gathering the dirty dishes and putting the remaining food in the refrigerator, noting that there was almost nothing but half and half and an apple that was well beyond its ripeness. Her mom knew that the best she could do was give her daughter time and hope that she would tell her what is wrong soon.
Once her mom had left Hermione went and laid down in her bed and let the tears come. Why shouldn't she be sad, Hermione thought bitterly, she fought in a war and watched people dying around her. Fred, Tonks, Remus, Sirius, Snape and untold others who weren't even old enough to drive were dead. From sheer exhaustion she fell into a fitful sleep.
It was a little before sunrise when Draco woke up. His mind was already going, even before he was fully awake. He heard a muffled sigh come from next to him and it took him a second to remember he had brought someone home with him the night before. For the life of him he could not remember what she looked like. He quietly got out of bed and left the room. He wanted to avoid as awkard a moment as he could. He walked down the stone staircase to the kitchen. His parents had long since been taken to Azkaban for their crimes and Draco had inherited their mansion. Most of it stood unused and collecting dust. He had long ago freed the house elves seeing as there was no need to keep all of them on for just one person.